My dog once flopped down in the shade mid-walk and refused to move. Not because she was tired, because the pavement was burning her paws. I felt terrible. I had checked the air temperature and never thought about the ground. Since that day, I do a quick paw test before every summer walk, and I learned a few other tricks that keep her comfortable.

The five second paw test

Press the back of your hand on the pavement for five seconds. If it is too hot for you to hold there, it is too hot for your dog’s paws. If it fails the test, walk on grass, dirt trails, or early in the morning before the sun heats the ground. Asphalt can be 40 degrees hotter than the air on a sunny day.

Time your walks

Walk before 7am or after sunset in summer. Those are the only hours when the ground has cooled down. Midday walks are hard on dogs even on shaded routes, because their cooling system is worse than ours. Dogs do not sweat much, they mostly pant, and panting loses its power in high heat.

Carry water and use it

Bring a collapsible bowl and offer water every ten minutes or so, even if your dog does not act thirsty. Dogs often stop drinking on walks because they are distracted, and then they overheat. A few gulps every block keeps them ahead of the problem. I also wet a bandana in cold water and tie it around her neck. The evaporation cools the blood vessels there, which is where dogs dump most of their heat.

Know the danger signs

Watch for excessive drooling, heavy panting that does not stop, red gums, or wobbling. If you see any of those, get the dog into shade, pour cool, not ice-cold, water over the paws and belly, and call the vet. Heatstroke in dogs is serious and comes on fast. I have only seen the drooling once, and it scared me enough to buy a cooling vest for the hottest days.

My dog still loves her walks. She just takes them at sensible hours now, and she does not flop down in the shade anymore.